Infectious Diseases Laboratory opened at VHS

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, DEC. 6. A state-of-the-art Infectious Diseases Laboratory inaugurated at the VHS centre, Taramani is expected to greatly aid the National Institute of Mental Health USA (NIMH) HIV/STD Prevention Trial being undertaken in slums in Chennai.

The study done by the YRG Care primarily in coordination with Johns Hopkins University and NIMH will last for five years in India and five other countries - Uganda, Peru, China, Russia and Zimbabwe.

About 28 slums with 300 families in each slum have been identified in the North and Central Chennai to determine the prevalence of HIV, STD and risk behaviours.

The laboratory will serve as the testing site for samples collected from the research project. With facilities to test for HIV using the Elisa, Western Blot and the Polymerase Chain Reaction Test for qualitative or quantitative test purposes the laboratory will also conduct free tests for the persons covered under the programme.

Prof. David D. Celentano, Johns Hopkins University, USA, speaking during the inauguration said that the idea was to establish `No cost intervention' for prevention of the infectious diseases in the slums. However, it was vital that the method being suggested to the members of the community was sustainable.

The cost for the study and the methodology is expected to be high and funds are being provided by the National Institute of Health, USA, he added.

Prof. Kenneth H Mayer, Brown University, USA, Mr.Bruce Neuling, Economic and Political Officer, US Consulate, Dr.Suniti Solomon, Director, YRG Care, Dr. N.S. Murali, Secretary, VHS, Chennai and Dr. B. Chandramohan, Deputy Commissioner ( Health) Corporation spoke.

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